I'm not quite sure what the shaded ground technique is, but I would add mulch around the base of your vines anyways. It will allow for moisture retention, and as it begins to decompose, nutrients will be returned to the soil. I usually collect pine needles and put down a layer of them first. Pine needles are acidic, which also promites good hop growth. I then clean out the firewood shed and add the remnants of bark on top. It looks ugly, but effective. I have a picture posted on the "hop growing" child board. Most don't have access to these resources, so pick up a bag of mulch or two.

I've always read that you can grow them between the 35th and 55th parallels... I tried growing in PHX (33rd parallel) for about 5 yrs, had a little success but ultimately not worth it. I found for a region where its hot and dry you need full afternoon sun. So here in PHX they had to be on an East/South facing wall. They always had 3-6" of alfalfa straw mulched on them and they drank alot of water. I also noticed when it got to 105F and above they stop growing. The hardest part for me was getting them to survive over the winter... I either watered them to much or not enough...

I'll most definitely have to use the mulching technique. I've also recently heard that Cascades grow particularly well in Colorado, which is the strain I had growing best (with my theory of the shaded area). Not sure if there's much merit in this. I suppose it would make sense that certain breeds work better in certain areas though.